That is exactly my point. There is an opportunity cost in keeping a large deposit (lost interest/investment opportunities). However that opportunity earn a cert

That is exactly my point. There is an opportunity cost in keeping a large deposit (lost interest/investment opportunities). However that opportunity earn a certain APY in order to be a better "investment" than the housing deposit (a penny saved is a penny earned): - $10,000 additional deposit reduces monthly rent by $50. - 50 * 12 = 600 - 600/10,000 = 6% The monthly rent reduction used to be $100 per $10,000. So it used to be 12%. I guess the break-even point is 6%, now... Concrete example: I could reduce the deposit from $90,000 to $10,000. But then my rent would go from $0/month to $400/month. So by keeping a large deposit, I save $4800/year in rent.